UNION boss Steve Salter has welcomed news that action is to be taken against levels of sickness absence in government.
Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK last week described an alarming rise in the level of sick leave as ‘unacceptable’.
He asked the government’s Office of Human Resources to produce an action plan on the issue and to provide regular progress reports for the Council of Ministers.
His move came after figures released in Tynwald showed the cost of sickness absence across government rose to £13.7 million last year, up from £10.4 million in 2007-08.
The average number of sick days per member of staff was 8.4 days in 2010-11, compared with 8.1 days in the UK public sector and 6.5 days in the UK economy as a whole.
Of 9,582 staff, nine were off for more than 200 days last year, more than 800 were off sick for more than 21 days and 2,039 were on sick leave for between five and 20 days.
Unite regional industrial organiser Steve Salter said the union was supportive of the move to address levels of sickness throughout government.
But he said this had to be done fairly. He pointed out the issue was brought to the attention of the employers’ side of Whitley Council as far back as January 2007. And he said that Mr Bell needed to take account of the number of days lost due to staff suspension.
He said: ‘The Whitley Council employer’s side was tasked with obtaining statistics relating to these concerns due to the fact that we viewed the problem as escalating.
‘It is disappointing that it has taken almost five years for the employer to act upon the issues raised.
‘We are pleased that Mr Bell has now promised to act on these problems. However, we need to ensure this is done in a fair manner and that each case is treated on its own merits.
‘Mr Bell should scrutinise and hold accountable those managers entrusted to deal with sickness and attendance issues to ascertain whether any action should be taken against those who have not performed in their duties and ensured that the various attendance and capability policies have been followed and implemented correctly.
‘Although supportive of Mr Bell, he also needs to take into account the number of days lost due to staff being suspended for prolonged periods of time due to managers failing to follow the time constraints and guidance within the various policies we have to deal with capability and disciplinary matters.’
Mr Salter said that he was aware of seven individuals currently suspended within government. One had been suspended since February on full pay, another five since June/July and another one for a period of four to five weeks.
He said: ‘All on full pay where the policies clearly state that investigations should be completed within a four to six-week period.
‘Managers who commit to undertake an investigation need to ensure that this is completed within the four to six-week period, after which a hearing should take place or the member of staff should be returned to work.’
He added: ‘We have the policies and agreements to deal with these issues, to support employees who need support, but also to deal with individuals who abuse the system. It is now down to Mr Bell, as he has promised, to deal with the issues.’
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